Featured in Collections on ArtFire

Wow, I have been blessed this week to be featured in two collections on ArtFire. This first one was curated by Dancing Wind Designs and features Larimar jewelry pieces. Love the color of this stone and it so reminds me of the turquoise blue water of the caribbean.

Lovely Larimar

  Curated By: DancingWindDe...

ArtFire.com

This next collection was curated by Linda of Steider Studios and features some great Pacific Northwest artists. She featured my triple strand Aurora Borealis necklace.

Spring Fever

  Curated By: SteiderStudios

ArtFire.com

To view any of the items, just click on the button that says "View this collection". Each item picture will take you to the shop offering that item for sale.

Featured Artist - Sudey Babes

I've always loved dolls and bears and thought why not feature a artist that makes Teddy Bears. So here is Sudey Babes. She has the most amazing bears. I think this one is my favorite and her name is Darla.

Sudey Bears has an ArtFire Studio where they sell adoptable bears and a web site where you can find a little bit more information about Sudey and her bears. All her bears are of a collectible bear quality and feature either jointed or floppy arms and legs. Either way they are absolutely wonderful. Here is another bear from her Artfire Studio called Faerie Bearie.

Now we have Kelly Kins a bear after my own heart. Love the jewelry.  LOL.

So, wander on over to Sudey's web site, ArtFire Studio or blog and check out all the wonderful bears.

A Day for the Dogs

Today the dogs got to go to the spa. They had the full treatment, bath, clipped, teeth brushed, nails filed, the works. Now they are all clean and full of energy. The little one is asserting his dominance, while the spaniel is stealing all the chew bones. I guess we are back to normal. We sure did miss them while we were on vacation. I'm told they were perfect angels while at grandpa's house for the week. It's hard to be away from them for too long, but it looks like we will be again next month when we go to Napa. Buddy the spaniel wasn't too happy that I was taking his picture while he had a chew bone....he didn't even want to look at me for fear I would take it away from him....well it was Leo's bone. Oh and don't you just love the 70's vintage gold carpet. We have yet to remodel our house. That's next on the list.

I just ran across a Creative Blogger friend Marsha's Etsy shop and blog Spinal Fusion. What cool earrings.
I love the funky disk ones in the middle. Check out her Etsy shop for all kinds of goodies at reasonable prices.

Hope you had a good Monday.  Cheers, Dana

Featured Artist - Bags by Melanie

I love bags and I love fabric. My hubby has now told me that I can't buy a handbag unless I get rid of one. OMG, who does this? Don't we just continue to collect them and trade them out with our various outfits? They never wear out, so they just accumulate in the back of the closet. So occassionally I'll just sneak one in and just say I've had it forever but don't carry it that often. I wonder if he is on to me yet... oh well, so far so good.

Well back to bags and fabric. This fellow blogger and creative soul has some wonderfully colorful bags, key flobs and pouches. She uses some amazing fabric prints for her designs and if you want to buy in bulk, she has listings for that also. I think my favorite is the bright pink flower tissue cover. I've seen these before, but I don't own one..humm I wonder why? I do carry tissues in that plastic baggy thing they come in, but I guess I have never thought about purchasing one for myself. I do agree with Melanie that they would make great gifts when you just need a little something. Check out Melanie's blog and her Etsy shop for more great items.

Cheers and don't let that hubby of yours make you get rid of any bags or shoes for that matter.  Ha ha -Dana

Featured Artist - Vintage Soap Shoppe

I love soap as much as the next person but these soaps look wonderful. Face it we all need soap and why not try some of Angela's. She has soaps, candles and bath products in her Etsy and ArtFire shops.

Here is a little more about Angela:

She is a professional pastry chef and has been making hand made soap for years. She started a soap business 3 years ago due to the urging of friends and family. She started out doing retail and have expanded into the wholesale market. Her vendors are supportive of her creativity and request her soap cakes. She loves doing them as they are a lot of fun. She incorporates her love for the pastry arts and soap making in one.

Her biggest reward is when she hears such wonderful comments about her soap. Her specialty is her heavy cream and goatsmilk soaps. She uses local sustainable products in her soap business and loves researching for the best and most purest essential oils, herbs, bontanicals, roots and spices.

Using the purest, freshest ingredients is very important to Angela as you have to start with the best ingredients to get the best product.

 

See Angela's blog at http://www.vintagesoapshoppe.blogspot.com/ and her products at http://www.etsy.com/shop/vintagesoapshoppe and http://vintagesoapshoppe.artfire.com/.

 

Don't forget about my December giveaway. The deadline is tomorrow for that wonderful moonstone necklace and earring set. Here is the link to that blog post. Don't let this one pass you by. http://danasjewelrydesign.blogspot.com/2009/12/december-giveaway-moonstone-necklace.html

 

Have a great day.

Featured Jewelry Artist - Flutter

One of my fellow Creative Bloggers is Phersmay and the name of her shop is Flutter. Nice fanciful name for some cute jewelry designs. You can check out her blog and jewelry HERE.

Here is one of my favorites, simple and sweet.

Phersmay is a stay at home mom to a beautiful little girl. She has several aspirations in life and right now she is living life the way she was meant to. By nature she is nurturing, eccentric, organised, bossy, flighty,dynamic, creative, and is always looking for inspiration in every aspect of life. She enjoys writing, loves to read poetry, and to spend time with the people she loves.

Enjoy and don't forget to enter my December giveaway.

Featured Artist - Prideaux Prints

Okay, we are now officially back from vacation, have picked up the dogs from the sitter and bought groceries. Now to tackle the mounds of laundry from the trip. Sometimes I think there is more work to be done when you get home from a vacation than getting ready for vacation.

Today I will be promoting a friend of mine. She is a photographer and has traveled extensively. Donna just opened a shop on 1000 Markets, one of my favorite handmade sites, and I would like everyone to check out some of her work. She'll be posting more photos later this week, but here is one titled Small Town USA. It's one of my favorites.

Check out her shop Prideaux Prints HERE.

Donna indicates that photography is her passion. Her photos capture the beauty of her lovely home state of Oregon and many of the other states and countries she has visited. She also enjoyed the romance of Italy, particularly Venice; and hopes you enjoy it too.

I hope everyone is having a great week. Enjoy!

Featured Artist - Karen of Winding Threads

Karen, another Creative Blogger friend has some wonderful bags that you might like. Okay, I just wanted to drool myself. If you have one of the small mini notebook computers, Karen makes a very cute computer bag, it's the yellow with the roses. Don't anyone buy it because I may have to myself.

Karen has a great blog that you can checkout HERE or I would highly recommend heading over to her Etsy shop HERE. I believe that Karen's love of fabric probably is very similar to my love of gemstones and beads. We are addicted and probably need help.

Featured Artist - Annette Piper

Last week I posted about another Creative Blogger friend and this week it is Annette Piper. Annette is a qualified gemologist and lives in Sydney. Her work is stunning as you can see from the picture of the earring. I left a comment on Annette's blog about the beautiful stones she uses and how I tend to hourd mine and haven't felt the need to share them with my customers yet...LOL. My husband thinks differently and so does the checkbook. I guess I'll have to get busy.  Here is a little bit more about Annette.

Gemstones - I gaze into their depths and see incredible patterns and miniature worlds. I invite you into my world where you can behold a stunning array of gems. Share my fascination in the millenia-long journey these stones have taken to be what they are today and see that what mother nature has created for our use and pleasure.

Working in the Sydney jewelry trade since 1982, I qualified as a gemologist in 1986. Constantly feeling the pull of the wonderful natural stones around me, in 2002 I began making my own creations and designing how I saw jewelry could be - elegant, simple and timeless.

Constantly searching for the new, the unusual and the different, from all over the world, I endeavor to create jewelry that will be unique yet still very affordable.

I now work from my home studio where there are magnificent views over the surrounding countryside and of the wide blue Australian sky.

As a mother to three very active children and wife to an aviator/farmer, I also share my surroundings with two lazy cats a working dog and a few hundred cows.
 
I invite you to visit Annette's blog and web site so that you can see her beautiful jewelry for yourself.
 
http://annettepiper.com/blog/
http://www.annettepiper.com/

Creative Bloggers Featured Artist

I just joined a new group called Creative Bloggers. The purpose of this group is to support and network with other bloggers. This weeks featured blogger is Michelle Harvey from Michabella Creations. Michelle creates contemporary jewelry that is very fashion forward. Her work was recently chosen by Keith Lissner for his runway show during Boston's Fashion Week. Here is one of my favorite earrings of Michelle's that Keith choose for his show.

You can also check out Michelle's web site HERE for some great affordable jewelry.

Featured Artist - Little Laura's Sweets

You know I usually feature crafters and artists, but isn't baking a craft or art form? If it isn't it should be. I must be craving something bad for me as I saw these wonderful sweet things and just drooled. I think the chocolate chip brownies are to die for. You can check out Laura's shop on 1000 Markets HERE. Here is a little bit more about Laura.

"I love to bake; I have always loved to bake. I guess growing up with a Danish grandmother was not an accident. There was always something delicious coming out of the oven and when I would get to help it brought me pure joy! It still does. It was then no surprise to anyone that I started working in kitchens. I loved working in sauté or the grill, but I always drawn to the Pastry Kitchen, one day I never left it. That was 15 years ago."

"2 years ago a friend asked me to make her wedding cake, I did and I have never looked back, I left the kitchen and started little laura's sweets. As the seasons change, so will the products since I try to use the best seasonal, organic and local ingredients available."

"If there is something you crave and don't see it, let me know, I will be happy to indulge your craving. -laura"

Featured Artist - Artwork by KD

I happened across this artist, Kathy DellaValle, while looking through some of the ArtFire shops in the Green Products area. I love her use of recycled products in her jewelry collection and her music has a folky, blues feel. Something that you can feel at home listening to just about anytime. You can listen to her music on her Myspace page HERE. I've included Kathy's bio below. Feel free to browse her ArtFire shop where she has her jewelry collection as well as a CD available.

My name is Kathy and I'm a full time artist from NE Pennsylvania. After being graduated from college for a year (painting major/art history minor) and some soul searching I decided the only way I would be happy was if I started my own full time art business. Luckily I have tons of support from my wonderful husband! Thus Artwork by KD!! I'm also a musician...

I took a couple jewelry metal classes in college and loved being able to create unique jewelry. However, the metals didn't quite feel like me or the message I want to convey in my work. One day as I was looking at an Aquafina bottle it literally dawned on me to use recycled materials! So I use what I learned in my jewelry metals classes (and painting classes) and carry it over to my media of recycled plastics and aluminum. These are materials that I come across everyday. I also get donations from friends and family (recycling is contagious). They include all kinds of plastic bottles and containers and aluminum cans. I also collect materials for my packaging and shipping materials. I reuse empty food boxes, magazines and brownpaper bags.

I've always been serious about recycling, reusing and cutting down on waste. I'm so happy to be able to join my art and love of recycling into lovely, funky jewelry! These pieces are an extension of me and my style. I hope you love them as much as I do!Check out my music at: http://www.myspace.com/kathydellavalle

**No matter what I'm making I always try to create an Experience, because to me that is what Art is...Thank you for reading this.

Featured Artist - Julie DeGroot

I stumbled across this wonderful glass artist today while cruising the 1000 Markets site. She makes some of the most magical garden elements. Wind chimes are some of my favorite things to have in the garden besides rocks and hers are very unique. I especially love the stained glass koy fish for those that do not raise their own fish. Here is a little bit about Julie.

Just a little bit about me, I live in Beautiful Western New York, in the country surrounded by the woods and nature in a home that my husband and I built together from the ground up. The picture above is my teahouse and was a present built by my son and my husband, which is very dramatic when lit up at night. The pond in my banner and used in a lot of my pictures was hand dug and sculpted by hubby and me, filled with Japanese koi and lots of love. My gardens are wonderfully peaceful and just a beautiful place to sit to be inspired. When I find the time to do what I love, I’m in my glass studio, if not you will find me in my gardens : )

I am a self taught artist ~ I have been enjoying and creating stained glass, mosaic designs, paintings, murals and my gardens for over 20 years now. My art is everywhere inside and out of my home.

I have this great passion for glass, for my gardens and the great outdoors, so I combined them all to create my glass art for your home and garden. I create one of a kind stained glass art, inspired by nature. All of my glass art is individually designed and handcrafted by myself. Each piece is totally unique.

I’m always on the lookout for vintage glass, beads or different objects to reuse. I love to upcycle these into my art. To take nothing and turning it into something! Love that!! I think a garden should be filled with not only plants & love but a whimsical place to visit, little surprises around every corner.

I have a lot of fun creating my glass art ~ Nature always sings to me ~

Please check out Julie's 1000 Markets site and find your Jewels in the Garden.

Featured Artist - Scrapples

I love featuring different artists each week and this week's artist is from my home state, Washington. Scrapples has a 1000 Market shop and also sells through other venues such as Farmers Markets in the Summer months. They sell handmade one of a kind items such as purses, wire jewelry, vest, shrugs, rugs, barbie clothes, baby items and much more.

What was your inspiration for getting started with Scrapples? I love crafting and trying anything new. when I started scrapples I had lots of scrap items and did not want to waste them so I would make things with the scraps and give them to family and friends then I started getting requests from friends to make custom items to purchase, so there is the story behind scrapples.

How did you choose or hear about 1000 Markets to start selling? I was searching the internet for an online store that was a little different and ran across 1000 markets, I thought this would be a good way to showcase Scrapples and share what I was making.

Do you have any other personal or business information that folks might find interesting about you or your business? Growing up we used to go camping my dad would find large fallen trees and start craving a huge tiki out of it and leave it there for all to enjoy. He was a magician for 60 yrs and invented a lot of trick props for other magicians. He also played music and made instruments. He tried every craft he could get his hands on. Very creative man.

My mother taught me to sew, knit,crochet, cook and draw. So being from a creative family it is in my blood. My list of hobbies and accomplishments are long.

I really enjoy what I do and I am glad there is a place on the web to share Scrapples.


Here is the link to Scrapples web site on 1000 Markets. Check them out and find some very unique gift ideas or something for yourself.

Featured Artist Jude McConkey Photography

I just love photos of nature and these by Jude McConkey are wonderful. They have an unearthly feeling that makes you wonder. Here is a little bit more about Jude.

I'm a newspaper photographer by trade, but a fine art photographer by desire. I love using photoshop to enhance my work and prefer dreamy, intense, and yes, even creepy images full of emotion.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, I now live in the wilds of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the winters are long and hard.

My photos have been featured in:
*Lake Superior Magazine *Sports Illustrated Kid's Magazine *Photographer's Forum Best of Photography Annual 2008 *Various newspapers throughout the United States *SaultRealism Fine Art Gallery *Alberta House Gallery *Firebrick Pottery and Gallery

To see more of my images: www.judemcconkey.com
For any questions or info, contact me here or at jude.mcconkey@gmail.com

Jude has a shop on 1000 Markets that feature some of these wonderful prints. I especially love trees and hers are definitely dreamy. My husband loves trains and this one with the snow is just captivating. Go visit Jude's web site and SHOP on 1000 Markets and see some of the wonderful photographs yourself.

Featured Artist - Antiquity Gamecrafters

Do you like games? Then you will love the games that Antiquity Gamecrafters has available on their 1000 Markets shop. All games are handcrafted at the time you purchase.

Antiquity Gamecrafters is the brain child of Brian and Jennifer Kooshian. Here is their story.

Brian grew up in a family that played games....lots of games. But of particular note are two games that were played because Brian's father was Armenian; Tovli (backgammon) and Fertgal (Nine Man's Morris).

When we lived in the Middle East we had the privilege to visit Damascus and purchase a beautiful Tovli board inlaid with Mother of Pearl which looked very similar to the one Brian's grandparents had owned. However, when it came to teaching games to our children, he realized that we had no Fertgal board, so he decided to make one. That was our first handcrafted game board.

We homeschool our family and as we began to study the history of ancient civilizations we learned about several games that were played in those civilizations. Brian began making some of those games for us to play as a supplement to school; usually as a Christmas gift to the kids. I thought they were so beautiful that Brian should consider selling them. Well, he really didn't take me seriously until we took some to an indoor 'garage' sale at a homeschool co-op. He sold more of those games than I did any of my 'stuff' and everyone that walked by simply raved about how beautiful and unique they were.

And so Antiquity Gamecrafters was born....

I've always had a love of games and the games the Gary makes reminds me of one that I played while in High School and College called Pente. It also is an ancient game remade for the modern world. I don't believe that stores carry this came any longer, but I did find it on Amazon.

Visit Antiquity Gamecrafters site and let them know what you think of their games. I think they are spectacular.

Featured Artist - Get Personal Art

I'm always on the look out for new and exciting designs especially in jewelry. Sadly, I don't have the equipment to create such wonderful works of art that Alysia creates with her laser cut acrylic. She has some amazing items in her 1000 markets shop HERE. Check it out. I love her city skylines, but of those pictured here the fish are my favorite.

Here is a little bit about Alysia and the art she creates:

I have been hand etching on monuments and memorials for over 15 years. Working on monuments has been rewarding on many levels. Recently I bought a laser system to laser etch portraits on granite tiles to be installed into monuments. Once I learned the computer design program and how to operate the laser, I came up with the jewelry. I had the love for jewelry, but lacked the money for it with the new laser payments. So I decided to make it myself. The items in the above photos are a few things I have created, pencil portraits, glass sandblasting with glue chipping, hand etching on granite, and laser on acrylic. (The dogs are hand etched.)

Featured Artist - Swizzlestix

Just look at these retro prints. Don't you just love the colors and how they make you happy. Another 1000 Markets Artist, Swizzlestix is the print art of Marcia Copeland. She has been in graphic design for 12 years and in 2003 ventured into a greeting card line. She has now developed an array of home decor products including pillows, tea towels, aprons, placemats and coasters. Check out her 1000 Markets Site HERE or her web site HERE.

I may just have to have that White Paisley Apron or the Retro Romp Apron. I love aprons and especially love these prints.

Enjoy!